1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, an image forming method, and a storage medium.
2. Related Background Art
It has been heretofore proposed to provide an image recognizing and processing function for preventing forgery of bills, securities or the like for a color copying machine. This intends that in a case where an image of image data having a read copy object is judged to be an anti-forgery object image, a normal copy output is prevented in a manner that (1) such image data is totally coated with some color to effect print output, (2) some symbol or graphic figure is superposed thereon to effect print out, (3) color or image size is changed to effect output, or (4) no print output is effected.
Incidentally, the copying machine, in principle, copies faithfully an object placed on an original table except copy-prohibited objects such as a bill. Therefore, in a case where an image analogous to a bill (not a bill but an image capable of being copied legally) is input, it is necessary to recognize it as not being a bill and to carry out copy processing. Therefore, extremely strict precision is demanded for judgment if a recognition object image falls under an anti-forgery object image.
On the other hand, recently, the quality of an image obtained by a color scanner or a color printer which is inexpensive as compared with a color copying machine has been rapidly enhanced. Even if these machineries are connected to a personal computer for a so-called use of a combination of apparatuses comprising elements of a color copying machine, a forgery action similar to that as described above is possible. Because of this, even in an image processing system using an expensive color scanner or a color printer, anti-forgery measures for bills or securities by the provision of the an image recognition processing function have been desired.
However, it is desirable for an inexpensive color scanner and a color printer to realize the image recognizing and processing function even more inexpensively as compared with a relatively expensive color copying machine. To this end, it is a strong solving measure rather to employ a realizing method mainly composed of software not depending on a realizing method mainly composed of hardware multi-using electronic circuits or the like. On the other hand, however, when the realizing method mainly composed of software is employed for judgment of the anti-forgery object image for which strict judging precision is demanded as previously mentioned, there is a problem that it takes materially long processing time for the recognition and judgment, as compared with the realizing method mainly composed of hardware.
For an operator for handling images which are not anti-forgery objects, short processing time is generally preferred from a viewpoint of work efficiency. It is not preferable, in order to cope with an operator who intends to form an image of a mere handful of bills and securities, to increase processing time for other fair operators.